Harry Potter and the Battle for Hogwarts
by Szustakowski
Summary: Harry Potter returns for his sixth year at Hogwarts. He and the school are in danger. Can Harry defeat Lord Voldemort and overcome his greatest fear yet? You decide!


Chapter 1: The Centaur's Message  
  
It was 1:00 am in the morning. The street of Privet Drive was just as ordinary as any other muggle street. Except for one thing. Outside Number Four stood a centaur, patiently awaiting the moment when Mr. Harry Potter would awake. As dawn approached, the centaur hid among the Dursley's garden to keep from muggles' prying eyes. Well hidden, he fell asleep.  
That morning Harry Potter woke with a start. As he looked around his bedroom, he thought about last night's dream. He'd had a nightmare about last year's encounter with Voldemort, except in his dream he had lost the prophecy and died. DIED! Harry couldn't think of a worse dream!  
It was still early and the Dursleys were still asleep. To pass time, he looked through his collection of Famous Witches and Wizards Cards. He only had six.  
"I wish I hadn't done all of that trading last year," he whispered to himself.  
His collection included three Chauncey Oldridges, two Bowman Wrights, and one Quong Po, a rare one he'd never trade.  
He heard a grunt. Uncle Vernon was awake. And when Uncle Vernon wakes, everyone wakes. So Harry decided to get an early start on breakfast, to avoid being scolded for his laziness.  
As he looked through the refrigerator for eggs and sausage, he noticed a peculiar movement in the garden outside.  
"Crazy birds," he said, "They must be after Aunt Petunia's cherry tree."  
When Harry started to cook, Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley came downstairs.  
"I had the strangest dream last night. Some weird man-horse thingy was in our garden," said Uncle Vernon.  
"You mean a centaur," said Harry.  
"Yeah, whatever. Enough of this rubbish, where's my breakfast, boy?"  
"Yeah Harry. I'm so hungry," said Dudley.  
Dudley, in Harry's opinion, was as big as an elephant. But, very surprisingly, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia thought of him as a very great and healthy boy.  
"Breakfast will be done in a few minutes," said Harry.  
Harry served breakfast, Dudley watching eagerly, and when Harry came to serve Dudley, he choked down the food like a dog that hadn't eaten in days.  
After a short, but satisfying breakfast, Uncle Vernon gave Harry a scolding.  
"That sausage was way too cold, and it tasted like it was undercooked! You best hope I don't get Mad Cow disease! Now get outside, and clean up the garden. NOW!"  
  
As Harry walked to the garden, he tried to think of a way to get out of doing garden work. But after long thinking, his results were none. He got to work.  
After tidying up the carrots and radishes, he moved to the cherry tree. Harry gasped.  
"Err... Hello?" said Harry uncertainly to the centaur lying in the garden.  
"Hello, Harry Potter. You must come with me immediately. I have an urgent message."  
"Hold on," said Harry, "My uncle had a dream about you. You'd better stay away from muggles. Anyway, why do I need to come with you?"  
"No time to explain. We need to go."  
After what seemed like hours of walking, Harry just realized that he had forgotten his school stuff. Thinking that he wouldn't be going back to Privet Drive, he reacted.  
"Oh no!" Harry exclaimed. "I've forgotten my school things!  
"Well, haven't you heard of the Summoning Charm, accio?" said the Centaur.  
"Yes, but do you think it will work from here?" Harry said. "I mean, we must be miles away."  
"No, but you can use the Advanced Summoning Charm. It's much more powerful, but it takes a true wizard to do it. But... give it a try. Say Accio Expansio"  
"Um...Okay." Harry said.  
He raised his wand high above his head, thought for a moment, and said:  
"Accio Expansio!"  
Almost immediately, his trunk, cauldron, and broom flew to the ground in front of him.  
"We've got to be almost there. Where are we going anyway?" asked Harry.  
"We are going to the alley behind Bolando's Dark Arts Supplies, in Knockturn Alley."  
"Knockturn Alley!" yelled Harry. "That place is mad! We can't go there!"  
"Like I said, this is urgent."  
Just then, a tree nearby disappeared into the ground. The Centaur led Harry to it, and told him to jump into the deep, dark hole it had left.  
"Are you mad? I'm most definitely not going down there."  
"It's part of the Floo Network. Floo powder isn't just about fireplaces. You can turn anything into a portal if you know how."  
After thinking a moment, Harry said:  
"Why don't you go first."  
"Fine."  
The Centaur jumped, and with a flash of red light, he was gone.  
Next, Harry jumped. As he was speeding around in circles, he was getting nauseous. Before he knew it, he popped out of the ground and was in an alley. He saw the Centaur.  
"Look," he said, pointing to an open door.  
Harry saw 3 people crowded around a circular table. He had no idea who they were. He couldn't hear them very well, but one thing he knew, was that they were talking about HIM.  
  
Chapter 2: Ron's Secret  
  
Harry moved in closer to the door behind Bolando's. It was dim, and he strained his eyes trying to make out the faces of the people. His scar burst into white-hot pain, and then Harry saw who was at the table. As he peered through the door, he could make out the faces of Wormtail, better known as Peter Pettigrew. Next to him was a man that Harry hadn't seen before, but Harry could sense evil in him. And next to that man was...Harry let out a silent scream... . It was Lord Voldemort a.k.a. Tom Riddle.  
Harry did the next thing that came to his mind. He ran. Far. He slipped into a narrow alleyway. He crawled along, clutching his scar, and eventually got to Diagon Alley.  
There was something wrong, though. It was daylight, not dark like it had been in Knockturn Alley.  
"Why is it light here?" Harry wondered aloud.  
An elderly wizard in green robes answered him.  
"It's daylight here all the time, don't you know?" he said.  
Harry smiled and went along. Thinking about what he had just seen, knowing he would tell Ron and Hermione as soon as he got into the safe shadows of a Hogwarts Express cabin, he entered the nearest shop. It was the infamous Flourish and Blott's Bookstore. The store brought all sorts of memories back to him. The Gilderoy Lockhart book-signing 4 years ago, the trouble with The Invisible Book of Invisibility, and The Monster Book of Monsters. It was all coming back to him now.  
Anyway, Harry decided to get his new schoolbooks, to get his mind off of Lord Voldemort's plan. He needed The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6 by Miranda Goshawk, and Potions: A Sixth Year Course by Wilhard Slinkbert. Harry walked up to the counter and said:  
"Hogwarts, Sixth Year, please."  
"Ah...yes. Here you go," the bookkeeper said. "That'll be 4 Galleons and 9 Sickles."  
Harry handed him some gold and silver out of his money bag.  
"Thank you," they said to each other.  
Next, Harry decided he would go and find some floo powder. He would then "floo" himself to the Weasley's, where he would stay for the rest of the holidays.  
He went to Dervish and Banges, and bought 5 ounces of floo powder.  
"Do you mind if I use your fireplace?" Harry said to the clerk.  
"Whassa matter? Can't read?" he said. He pointed to a sign next to the fireplace that Harry didn't notice before. It read:  
  
Within Britain: 2 Sickles  
  
Anywhere else: 1 Galleon  
  
"Okay," Harry said. "Here you go."  
Harry handed him 2 sickles, and stepped into the grate. He then took a handful of floo powder, and threw it in the ashes. They burst into an emerald-green fire. Harry yelled "The Burrow!" and he was off. Harry had only used floo powder about thrice times before: Once in his Second Year, and twice in his Fifth Year.

**THE END!!! **(not really! I'm finished with this, but if you are interested, you can finish it. feel free to publish this on FanFiction.Net, but please keep the title!


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